Tiana Lynch, of course, knew what Jason Sterling meant. It was better to win over more people now, especially since everyone had just awakened their Superpowers and was still clueless.

And so, Tiana Lynch led Tia Norris to the main hall of the air-raid shelter.

As for her Ability...

A smug smile touched Tiana Lynch’s lips.

Although everything in this life had turned out differently, she had also gained her Superpower much earlier. For example, she now possessed the A Level Investigation Superpower.

A Level Investigation allowed her to inspect another person’s Superpower (though she couldn’t inspect anyone of a higher level than herself).

Unfortunately, Tiana Lynch couldn’t see the text in the parentheses, as the line was grayed out. If Sue Lawrence were to activate her Eye of Barrier Breaking, she would have been able to see it with perfect clarity. A mere A Level Investigation Superpower was incapable of perceiving such hidden warnings.

But even so, Tiana Lynch was already delighted.

She glanced back smugly in the direction of Sue Lawrence’s room.

’Sue Lawrence does have a Superpower now, but I won’t tell Jason Sterling. He’s already so indecisive about her. If he knew she had a Superpower, wouldn’t he just go running back to her and try to rekindle their old flame?’

’That woman should have died long ago. It’s only because I let her off the hook early on that this useless piece of trash, Sue Lawrence, actually managed to get Superpowers. And two of them, no less.’

’A Healing Skill and an Ice Control Skill... both are common Abilities. I’ve already seen them on two other people—Pamela Sutton and Tia Norris.’

’They’re completely unremarkable.’

’Even with a second chance, trash is still trash. All she got were a couple of second-rate, minor Superpowers. Ugh, I don’t get why there aren’t any S Level Superpowers around. Maybe it’s because the apocalypse just started. I’ll wait. I’m sure an S Level Superpower User will show up eventually. When they do, I’ll have to latch onto them for dear life.’

As Tiana Lynch thought this, a smile played on her lips while she weaved through the crowd.

If Sue Lawrence could hear Tiana Lynch’s inner thoughts right now, she would have died laughing.

’No S Level Superpower Users?’

What a joke. Before the apocalypse had even begun, Sue had killed an S Level Superpower User and plundered their Eye of Barrier Breaking. Then she encountered that S Level Human-shaped Weapon. And on top of that, there was Silas Hawthorne, whose level was completely undetectable. S Level and even higher Superpower Users had clearly already appeared, yet just because Tiana Lynch couldn’t see them, she dared to claim there were none?

Tiana Lynch, however, was oblivious. She still believed her A Level was the highest rank and spent her days smugly pleased with herself.

That evening, the missions were posted. A paper copy was tacked to the mission board, and the list scrolled continuously on the electronic screen overhead.

Meanwhile, the people inside the air-raid shelter, especially the ordinary civilians, still looked utterly bewildered.

The government had prepared for the apocalypse, but these people were still completely in the dark.

"What’s written up there?"

People murmured among themselves.

"Looks like... some kind of missions..."

"Shoveling snow, cleaning, and maintaining order gets you a C Level meal. Technical jobs get you a B Level meal. All outside missions get you an A Level meal."

"You’re kidding, right? Isn’t the government supposed to take care of us?"

Someone immediately started to shout, and a wave of panic rippled through the crowd.

Victor Keller, standing in the crowd, spoke in a cold voice. "Anyone who doesn’t want to be here is free to leave. The snow outside is ten meters deep. Forget cars, not even a plane can take off. If you want to eat, you’ll have to earn it with your labor. Otherwise, you can go out and eat snow!"

In an instant, everyone fell silent.

Ten meters of snow. Hearing about that in the past would have sounded like a joke. It would have been just a bit of idle gossip—’Did you hear it snowed ten meters deep somewhere?’—something to chat about after dinner. But now that they truly understood how terrifying ten meters of snow really was, no one dared to speak of it.

As the hall quieted down, Joanna Ward returned, supporting Zachary Lynch. Many people recognized the couple. In the short time it had taken them to get back, Zachary Lynch’s nose had already suffered from frostbite.

An elderly person asked with concern, "Is his nose all right?"

Joanna Ward was sobbing uncontrollably, drawing more people to look their way. They saw that Zachary Lynch’s nose was wrapped in thick gauze.

"It’s frostbitten," she cried. "There’s localized tissue necrosis. The doctor said to prepare for surgery... that it can’t be saved..." Her voice broke into sobs.

The moment her sobs rang out, everyone fell silent.

For the residents of Stellaport, minus ten degrees Celsius was already considered frigid. They had never experienced weather cold enough for frostbite to take someone’s nose. The worst they knew were chilblains on their hands and feet, and even that was something only the older generation had gone through. Most young people today didn’t even know what chilblains were.

"Is it really this cold at minus fifty degrees?"

"This is the first I’m seeing of it, too. It’s truly terrifying out there."

"Just watching it snow didn’t seem so bad... not until he lost his nose to the cold..."

As a murmur of discussion spread through the crowd, the large screen suddenly lit up. It was broadcasting the news.

"This just in: massive snowfalls have swept across the entire globe..."

The entire globe?

Now, everyone’s eyes were wide, glued to the screen.

"According to satellite imagery, the equator and both the North and South Poles are completely covered by heavy snowfall. The average snow depth is ten meters. The equatorial region has reached an all-time low of minus forty-two degrees Celsius. There are reports of widespread death of flora and fauna, a complete halt to global air travel, frozen ports, and human casualties..."

By the end of the report, the entire hall had fallen so silent it seemed to have been frozen over itself. Everyone stared at the screen in disbelief, the color draining from their faces.

Only now did they finally understand what was truly happening.

"It’s global... How is that possible?"

"Over minus forty degrees at the equator?"

"It really is the apocalypse... The apocalypse!"

The images were from satellites, but they offered a direct, visceral view of the frozen globe. The once-blue planet was now a sheet of stark white. Only the tallest structures in a few major cities remained visible: The Sunstone Pyramids, for instance, or The Zephyr Spire, or The Apex Tower. All lower buildings had vanished beneath the ice.

As the images swept by, only buildings could be seen. Not a single human was visible.

This was a global ice age.

The people were shocked, then silent. The silence became an oppressive, suffocating quiet. Amidst the stillness, someone began to whimper, and soon, sporadic sobs broke out across the hall.

"A catastrophe... This is a catastrophe!"

"It’s divine punishment! Divine punishment!"

"What are we going to do? Your grandpa is still back in our hometown... Is he... Is he...?"

Wails filled the air. Some worried for their relatives, some prayed it was divine retribution, others fell to their knees, kowtowing and begging the gods for protection. The full spectrum of human desperation was on display.

「Meanwhile, in the command center below.」

Theodore Frost couldn’t help but laugh as he looked over a file that had just arrived in his inbox. "Unbelievable. The snow is this deep, and Meridia still has the time to send a satellite message condemning us for building underground defense facilities without them?"

He looked over at Silas Hawthorne. "What, they don’t have a single person over there who’s reliving this?"